Best Served Cold
by harold68361
Summary: Beacon has fallen. As has her partner in crime, and the one she loved. As the smoke clears, her sights turn from the tattered ruins to the bodice of a girl equipped with a red cloak. She took him. She did this. She WILL pay. It's true what they say, after all. Revenge is a dish "Best Served Cold".
1. Finally Understood

**Hello everybody, and welcome to the first installment of my newest concoction, which I like to call "Best Served Cold".**

 **I hope you'll stick around for the show as we explore the aftermath of the fall of Beacon from an entirely new perspective. So, come gather around as I regale to you the happenings of a story** _ **best served cold**_ **.**

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" _ **S.i.g.n. L.a.n.g.u.a.g.e.**_ "

" _Thought_ "

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Teardrops splashed on the ground, forgotten. She collapsed to her knees, whether it was from exhaustion or grief, she couldn't tell. She didn't care.

" _She did this,_ " thought the young huntress as more tears fell into her lap. " _He understood me like nobody else before. She'll pay._ " Tears streamed down her face and she sobbed silently. For the first time since she was found by Roman, she cried herself to sleep, alone.

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She awoke to the sound of a familiar voice calling out. "Neo," called Emerald. Then louder, "Neo, where are you?"

Neo stood up quickly. " _I have to find them,_ " she screamed inside her head, cursing the fact that she was mute. " _I've already lost Roman. I can't lose them, too. I can't lose them. My friends._ "

She followed the sound of Emerald's voice, running as fast as she could. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally found the green haired girl, and Mercury along with her. She ran up and wrapped Emerald in the tightest hug she'd ever given. Tears streamed from her troubled eyes. She looked up and was greeted back with Emerald's red eyes.

"Oh my gosh," exclaimed Emerald, breathing a sigh of relief. Upon noticing the tears in Neo's eyes, she spoke again. "What's wrong? Wh-Where's Roman?"

Neo hung her head. She wished so bad that she could speak. That she could explain her feelings and the hatred she harbored for the girl in the red hood, but alas, she couldn't. She did her best to manifest the grief she felt into one heartfelt stare, hoping Emerald would understand.

Emerald simply gasped. "Y-You mean he's-" Emerald cut her sentence short as Neo broke into silent sobs. There was no need to continue. Mercury and she had figured it out. "How?" she asked after several minutes.

Neo had never thought to try. " _Maybe, just maybe…_ " Neo signed the letters very slowly, hoping that at least one of them knew sign language. " _ **G.r.y.p.h.o.n,**_ " she signed slowly, making sure to make each sign precise.

Immediately, Mercury caught on. "Sign language," he said, eliciting a skeptic look from Emerald, which he promptly ignored. He watched intently until she had finished. "Gryphon. He was killed by a gryphon?"

Neo simply nodded. " _Thank god,_ " she thought, a feeling of weight lifted from her shoulders. " _Somebody who can actually understand me._ "

"Oh my gosh," exclaimed Emerald as she noticed a red streak along her side. "Neo, you're hurt!"

Neo glanced down and noticed a large amount of blood leaking onto her dress. " _How did I not notice that before?_ " she asked herself silently, her eyes starting to feel heavy again. " _More importantly, why isn't my aura healing it…_ " She looked up at Emerald pleadingly.

"N-Neo," asked the mint-haired girl as she gazed worriedly at her friend. "Neo, what's wrong?"

Neo signed as fast as she could. She didn't feel right. " _ **S.o.m.e.t…**_ ". However, before she could finish her message, she collapsed into Emerald, unconscious.

"N-Neo? Neo," screamed Emerald, losing all composure. Turning to Mercury with tears in her eyes, she pleaded. "We need to get her to a hospital, NOW!"

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 **And thus ends the pilot chapter of Best Served Cold. Let me know in the reviews if you liked the story and would like to read more. I'd love to continue this story for you all, and I see great things for the future of it.**

 **P.S. Don't worry. Future chapters will be longer. This is just a pilot to see the reception of the story.**

 **Anyway, feel free to leave a review with any comments or criticisms you may have, and if you liked it, make sure to follow/favorite to make sure you get your fill of our Neopolitan Queen.**


	2. Caught in the Dark

**Hey, y'all, and welcome to the second installment of Best Served Cold!**

 **When we last saw our multi-flavored goddess, she had just endured the loss of the one person who truly cared, or so she thought. Grief-stricken and delusional, she failed to notice a grievous wound to her side.**

 **Will Emerald and Mercury find help before it's too late? What will happen if they don't? Why isn't Neo's aura activating? All of this and so much more in this latest installment of a story best served cold.**

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"N-Neo? Neo!" Emerald's voice echoed around her.

" _Wh-What?_ " thought Neo. " _Where am I?_ "

"P-Please," echoed Emerald's voice, coming from every direction at once.

" _Emerald is that you,_ " thought Neo, beginning to panic. " _Wh-What's going on?_ "

She tried to move, to let her teammate know that she was alright. All to no avail. She found herself in a world shrouded in darkness. " _Wh-Why can't I move?_ "

"Please, you have to help her," cried the green-haired girl.

"M-Ma'am, you need to calm down," a woman's voice said, one unknown to the young huntress. "Now tell me what happened."

"We don't know," said Emerald, still panicking. "We found her in the forest after the tower fell. She's our teammate. Please, you have to help her!" Neo wanted to reach up and wrap her arms around her the crying girl. " _Sh-She actually cares? Nobody ever cares,_ " thought the girl, trapped in a state of semi-consciousness. " _Not even Roman…I have to help her… I need to comfort her…_ "

"We don't have the resources needed to heal her here in Vale," said the woman, causing Emerald to break into hysteria.

" _Wh-What?_ " the severity of the situation beginning to sink in. " _I…I might not make it? N-No…_ " Tears welled up in her responseless eyes, the only sign of movement in her entire body.

" _I-I can't die…Not like this,_ " thought the young huntress, fear overtaking her. " _I-I don't want to leave them…I don't want to leave her._ "

"Ma'am please," said the faceless voice. "Follow me to our forward camp. We'll see what we can do from there."

Neo heard no response from the mint-haired girl. After a short time, however, the muffled voice of Mercury came through. "Emerald, it'll be okay. She'll pull through. She's strong."

"I hope so…" said Emerald, sadness in her voice. "I-I can't lose her. I don't want to lose anyone ever again."

" _I don't want to lose you either,_ " thought Neo. " _Please hurry. I-I don't want to die…_ " She laid there, suspended in darkness, isolated from the world around her. The labored breathing of her teammates being the only reassurance that she hadn't succumbed to her injuries.

After what seemed like an eternity, Emerald's voice echoed through the confines of Neo's mind. "There it is," she cried with overwhelming urgency. "Hurry!" The sound of Emerald and Mercury's breathing sped up and their breaths came in deeper and deeper huffs.

Emerald's voice seemed further away, barely audible at points. Neo focused all of her willpower into listening for her young partner. " _Please…_ " she willed through her clouded thoughts; the darkness beginning to overtake her. " _I don't…want…to…leave…you…_ "

The darkness closed in. As her senses faded, a single voice slipped through. A beacon of hope. "Help! Help," she cried, her voice cracking behind a sob. "Please! You have to help her!"

" _Th-They made it…_ " thought Neo as she fought the urge to succumb to the darkness.

"Bring her inside and lay her on the table," said a man, his voice grim. "What school do you three hail from?"

"H-Haven," replied Emerald.

"Get the airship running," yelled the man, who Neo had figured to be the surgeon. "We're going to need an emergency medical evac within the hour!"

"Y-You mean you can't save her?"

"I should be able to seal the wound temporarily," said the man urgently. "Long enough to get her to a proper hospital in Mistral. Now we must hurry. Time is not in our favor."

" _N-No…_ " thought Neo, her long-unused voice echoing throughout her subconscious. " _Th-This can't be how it ends…_ "

"I'm going to need an assistant," he said, his breathing steady. "First things first, we need to put her under anesthesia.

"Hand me that scalpel. This is going to be an uphill battle…"

"Y-Yes, sir," said Emerald, her voice trembling slightly.

" _Please…_ " cried Neo, cursing her inability to speak. " _Don't…let this be…the end…Emerald. I can't leave you… Not…yet…_ "

Nothing.

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 **And thus ends the second installment of a story which is quickly becoming quite close to my heart. As I've thought and deliberated over the past month with this story, I've decided that it might be best to leave this story with shorter chapters, making them easier to crank out, meaning less of a wait time when life starts biting me in the butt. :P**

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 **As our Tri-Flavored goddess lies disconnected to the world, completely alone to her thoughts, how will she hold herself together? Will anyone ever come to her aid?**

 **As we depart, one last question weighs heavy on our minds. Will she pull through?**

 **Eat it all up… Next time in a story Best Served Cold!**


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